High Impact Research Programme: The Ministry created this
initiative to make Universiti Malaya (UM) one of the world’s best
research universities;
Collaboration (MyLAB): MyLAB focuses on four sectors—
nanotechnology, biotechnology, automotive and aerospace—which
are driven by collaboration between researchers in HLIs and
industry players.
EXHIBIT 7-4
Comparison of gross domestic expenditure on R&D by funding sources
Financed by government
Financed by business enterprise
Others2
Gross domestic expenditures of R&D (GERD) as percentage of GDP1
2012; %
1.01
1
South Korea
2
Israel
3
Finland
0.95
4
Sweden
0.94
5
Japan
6
Denmark
0.86
7
Germany
0.87
8
Austria
9
Slovenia
10
United States
・
・
・
Malaysia
32
0.48
2.98
0.06 4.04
1.44
0.56
0.36 3.55
1.95
0.51
2.59
1.15
3.93
2.01
2.24
1.79
1.92
25%
12%
27%
3.41
28%
0.24 3.39
16%
0.32 2.98
29%
0.13 2.92
30%
0.45 2.84
40%
1.76
0.25 2.80
28%
0.86
1.65
・
・
・
0.44
0.59 0.04 1.07
0.28 2.79
31%
0.79
1.24
Proportion of GERD
financed by government
41%
1 Data used for South Korea and Japan is from 2011, due to data availability. Switzerland is not in the list since it has GERD 2.87% of GDP, but no recent
data available
2 “Others” mainly refers to funding sources from abroad
SOURCE: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Institute for Statistics
several universities will come out with their
solutions, and the specific company will decide
which one is feasible. Most are technical solutions
via application of technology. He adds that the
response to PPRN has been encouraging as
Government plays a role in financing the search
for solutions. Based on the size of the company,
there is a RM50,000 Matching Grant where small
enterprises pay as little as 10% while bigger
companies foot out a larger portion at 50%.
For more sophisticated research and
commercialisation, university and private sector
collaboration is also gaining more traction. The
push factor is a Government incentive of 7%
tax deduction for private companies. Dato’ Seri
Zaini discloses that multinational companies
such as Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and Carrier
Corporation have taken advantage of this and
house their research facilities at the universities.
The companies utilise academia expertise and
university research facilities, as well as enable
lecturers to conduct research and upgrade their
qualifications.
Enhancing public-private collaboration in R &
D and TVET will certainly contribute to capacity
building of Malaysia’s human capital. This is part
of the transformation of the higher education
system that has been planned in the 11-year MEB.
Malaysia now ranks number 52 in the Human
Capital Index 2015 covering 124 countries by
the World Economic Forum. It needs to move up
the ladder because human capital will be the key
factor linking innovation, competitiveness and
growth in the 21st century.
11